'Leaving Neverland' Director Rips Jaafar Jackson's 'Very Wooden' Performance in Uncle's Biopic — and Claims King of Pop is Portrayed as 'Asexual Plastic Action Doll'
Jaafar Jackson's performance has been ripped apart by the 'Finding Neverland' director.
April 28 2026, Published 7:45 p.m. ET
Despite Michael Jackson's new biopic breaking box office records, there's at least one person who isn't buying the hype, RadarOnline.com can reveal, and that's the Leaving Neverland director.
Dan Reed, who was behind the HBO documentary highlighting Wade Robson and James Safechuck's child sexual-abuse allegations against the iconic singer, ripped the new film, calling out Jaafar Jackson's performance.
Dan Reed Goes Off on Biopic: 'Not the Full Story'
Jaafar Jackson's performance in 'Michael' was blasted as 'very wooden.'
"The first part of Michael as a child, I could kind of buy that," Reed explained to Variety, before launching into an attack on the King of Pop's nephew's performance.
"But as soon as we go to the adult Jackson, played by his nephew Jaafar, that burst my bubble. I thought, he’s a great dancer, but his performance is very wooden, and one of the reasons for that is he didn't have much of a script to work with."
Reed raged, "He becomes this waxwork who performs these jukebox songs, but there’s zero insight into what makes Jackson tick. He’s this asexual plastic action doll of a figure in the film. And of course, the issue of his relationship with children is completely distorted by the fact that they portray him as an eccentric, overgrown child, which we know is not the full story."
The Emmy winner then called out Jackson's family, accusing them of protecting his legacy by "whitewashing" his alleged sexual assaults against children.
Michael Jackson Given 'Attributes of a Deity'
'Leaving Neverland' director, Dan Reed, slammed the biopic for keeping out the singer's controversies.
"Why are they dancing around this?" Reed asked, before claiming, "It's well-known that Jackson spent a long time with small-boy companions, including taking them into his bed at night and locking the door, which is undisputed – and that alone, if someone made a claim, is probably enough to convict him in a court of child sexual abuse – but with Jackson, none of this stuff seems to matter."
He added, "And neither the estate nor the writer of the film nor anyone else has provided an alternative narrative apart from, oh, he didn’t have a childhood, so he needed to spend the night alone with kids, which makes no sense..."
Reed claimed the Thriller hitmaker has been given "attributes of a deity, but there was a human Jackson, and he was what we know he was. As a documentary filmmaker, I was focused on telling Wade and James’ story – not Jackson’s story."
Director Antoine Fuqua Labeled 'Nasty'
The biopic broke box office records, despite being ripped by critics.
The biopic concludes in 1988, five years before 13-year-old Jordan Chandler would accuse Jackson of having touched him inappropriately. The two settled out of court for $23million in 1994.
In response to the allegations against Jackson, the biopic's director, Antoine Fuqua, said, "Sometimes people do nasty things for money." However, Reed wasn't having it.
"Someone who’s made tens of millions pushing a false narrative around a man who’s a pedophile, that's a nasty thing," Reed fumed in his interview. "Mr. Fuqua has described his own actions while attempting to smear the protagonists of my documentary, and that makes me laugh."
The biopic grossed $219million globally in its opening weekend, with nearly $100million of that from North America alone.
Paris Jackson Slams Father's Film
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The 'Beat It' singer's controversies, including allegations of child abuse, are left out of the film.
Colman Domingo, who plays the legendary entertainer's cruel father, Joe Jackson, in the film, defended the biopic, explaining the film "does not go into the first allegations" against the superstar because it is set before the initial claims came out and is focused on the rise of his music career.
"We center it on the makings of Michael, so it's an intimate portrait of who Michael is," the Oscar-nominated actor said, before hinting the allegations could be detailed in a potential sequel.
While the majority of the Jackson family appears to back the film, his daughter Paris previously declared, "... The narrative is being controlled, and there are a lot of inaccuracies and a lot of big lies. In the end, I can't accept it. Please enjoy it. Do whatever. But don't involve me."
About 30 percent of footage initially shot for Michael went unused, and could reportedly instead be used for a potential sequel.
